This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: The World Cup opens with a bang, how thinking mothers should deal with gunplay, and we interview the directors of two new documentaries—one on the late, great Gore Vidal, the other on prison escape artist and possible criminal justice victim Mark DeFriest.

This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: The World Cup opens with a bang, how thinking mothers should deal with gun play, and we interview the directors of two new documentaries—one on the late, great Gore Vidal, the other on prison escape artist and possible criminal justice victim Mark DeFriest.

When, exactly, to give him the bad news? Before our interview? That would spoil the conversation. Lunch would be best. But when, exactly? Before the first course, during the meal, or ought I to delay until dessert?

In 1973, Gore Vidal published a novel that struck at the ankles of the notion that the United States is a country founded by altruistic do-gooders whose highest ambition was the creation and protection of the Constitution.

In this essay, first published in 2008, the iconic author objected to Newsweek’s obituary of his onetime rival, William F. Buckley, a “knightly man” who stood up to “bullies” like Gore Vidal ... by verbally gay-bashing him on national television.

Truthdig was honored to have been the home of the author and iconoclast Gore Vidal since 2006. In addition to publishing a multitude of essays on our site, Vidal participated in a number of interviews on a wide range of subjects, including U.S. elections, Cuba and solar power.

In a tribute to his memory, and to celebrate his life, we present to you a collection of essays, interviews, photos and stories about the amazing Gore Vidal.

Gore Vidal reads an essay first published in 2007, in which the author and iconoclast suggested that perhaps there was a more sinister explanation for President Bush’s fiascoes than mere incompetence: He was out to destroy the American empire.

Truthdig was proud to be the home of Gore Vidal’s essays over the last six years. In a tribute to his legacy, we’ll be rerunning his great works. In this essay, written in 2009, Vidal wants us to accept that the U.S. is no longer a republic, no longer governed by laws—only by armed men and force.

Gore Vidal, the high-born author and activist who died Tuesday at the age of 86, was a man who had grand, democratic ambitions for his country—a nation that became a pale, mocking imitation of the place he knew during his pre-World War II boyhood—says his longtime friend Bob Carr, the current Australian minister of foreign affairs.

Spain accounted for almost half of the world’s solar power market in 2008, thanks to a Spanish subsidy that is now ending. The subsidy change, combined with an increased supply of solar equipment from China and Taiwan, has crashed international demand. Now solar modules are selling for half what they used to, according to a report on Global Post.

Let us accept the facts staring us in the face – that demonstrably we are no longer a republic. We are no longer governed by laws, only by armed men and force. This is just like the days of Billy the Kid. You have an armed man going down a dusty street and that is authority. And it has come to this for us.

Amazon fell into hot water with the gay community after gay-themed books began disappearing from the site’s sales rankings. Amazon blamed the problem on a “glitch” and has restored some of the titles, but one author says a representative from the site told him his work had been recategorized as “adult.”

The whip-smart and ever-sly Gore Vidal visited “Real Time” on Friday, giving his historical and sometimes hysterically funny take on the state of the United States. He also revisited a few key moments from his personal history, illustrated by some priceless archival footage found by Bill Maher’s crack research team. Is it too soon to make an Amelia Earhart joke?

Let me describe what happened in my interview with Gore Vidal for Vanity Fair’s Spanish edition and why I felt compelled to report what was, in my experience, the single most shockingly racist line of the 2008 presidential election campaign.

Gore Vidal, racist? Au contraire, the renowned author asserts in this response to a recent piece on The Huffington Post that claimed Vidal had a problem with Barack Obama’s bid for the White House because of the president-elect’s race.

October proved to be the cruelest month, for that was the time that Sen. McCain, he of the round, blank, Little Orphan Annie eyes, chose to try out a number of weird lies about Barack Obama ostensibly in the interest of a Republican Party long overdue for burial.

On June 9, 2008, a counterrevolution began on the floor of the House of Representatives against the gas and oil crooks who had seized control of the federal government. This counterrevolution began in the exact place which had slumbered during the all-out assault on our liberties and the Constitution itself.

Whither Dennis Kucinich? If the powers that be at CNN and a certain Iowa news outlet (attention: Des Moines Register) thought that elbowing Kucinich out of the most recent Democratic presidential debate would slip by unnoticed, Gore Vidal is more than ready to disabuse them of that notion.

Those readers who have followed the saga of Gore Vidal’s bid to harness the sun may be heartened to hear that the esteemed author has emerged victorious in his green-minded mission: Vidal’s solar system is back in working order. Here, he offers a wry retort to counter his detractors, along with a spirited response to a recent New York Times report about solar power that left him quite cold, it would seem.

Note to public utility companies: Do not cross Gore Vidal. What began as a personal nuisance—the shutdown of his newly installed home solar power system by Los Angeles’ water and power provider—has become emblematic of a bigger issue (or two) for the venerable writer, who states his position in no uncertain terms in this interview.

The iconic author and historian speaks with Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer about his recent tour of Cuba, why he thinks the island has a bright future and why the United States, the world’s only superpower, has an inferiority complex.

Robert Scheer sits down with Gore Vidal to hear his take on the upcoming presidential campaign, religion and the future of the American empire in this first installment from Truthdig’s series of interviews with the iconic author and historian. Watch the clip

Gore Vidal reads from his essay, “Hail and Farewell: the End of the American Empire.” The iconic author, historian and patriot suggests that perhaps there’s a more sinister explanation for the president’s fiascos than mere incompetence: he’s out to destroy the American empire.